A Framework for Analysis of Ambidexterity and Performance in Small-to-Medium-Sized Firms

Abstract

Ambidextrous organizations provide a practical model for forward-looking executives seeking to pioneer disruptive innovations while pursuing incremental gains. The relationships described in this study are based on the organizational-context literature, in particular Ghoshal and Bartlett's (1994) framework for organizational effectiveness, suggesting that contextual ambidexterity emerges when owner-managers in a business unit develop a supportive organization context. This perspective suggests that superior business-unit performance is not achieved primarily though charismatic leadership nor through some formal organizational structure, nor strong company culture; but rather through building a rational set of systems and processes that collectively define a context that allows the transcending capabilities of alignment and adaptability to flourish simultaneously, thereby sustaining business unit performance.